PERSONAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2674, 21 January 1916, Page 7

PERSONAL ITEMS

The Hon. A. M. Myers, Minister of Customs, left for Auckland by last night's Main Trunk express.

His Excellency tho Governor has been pleased to approves of the award of a Meritorious Service Medal to StafF-Ser-geant-Major Alfred William Baldwin, Now Zealand .Permanent Staff.

Sir George Clifford, president of the Now Zealand Racing Conference, is in Wellington.

Messrs. It. W. Kane and W. Watson, of the Board of Directors of the Bank of New Zpaland, who have been touring the North Auckland district, have returned' to Wellington.

. Brigadier-Goneral Wallack, Commandant of tho. New South AVales Forces, who went on a health trip to Egypt, is reported to be dangerously ill.—Press Association.

'Mr. Ashford (New South Wales Minis-' ter for Agriculture) is a passenger by tho Mabura (which left Sydney for Auckland and Vancouver at 5 p.m yesterday), on a holiday trip to New Zealand. —Press Association.

Last evening the airnual meeting of the Wellington Swimming Club expressed its sense of the loss sustained by tho deaths at the front of Messrs: Lance Bridge and! Geo. Patterson.

At the annual meeting of the Wellington Swimming Club last evening great regret was expressed concerning the death of the late Hon John Duthie, once an ardent supporter of the club. Tfie olub decided to write to the relatives of the late Sir. Duthie expressing its sympathy with them;

Mr. C. E. Richardson has been appointed Vice-Consul of Russia at Wellington during the absence of Mr. Ultan M'Oabe.

Mr. J. H. Stringer has been appointed Consular Agent of the United States of America at Christchurch.

i Mr. W. J. Pugh has been appointed Acting-Consul of Switzerland at Auck-land-during the absence of the consul, Mr. ,G. A. Streiff. ■

Dr. C. L. Nedwill has been appointed medical officer to His Majesty's Prison at Lyttelton. < '

Dr.. Tolhurst was yesterday appointed from amongst four applicants to the position of acting-surgeon on 'the honorary staff of the Wellington Hospital, in place of Dr. J. S. Elliott, who leaves New 1 " Zealand as medical officer in charge of th'e hospital ship Maheno.

A hundred years ago on Tuesday last, states the Auckland "Star," Mr. George S. Barker, of Claudelands, Hamilton, was .born .in military barracks at Calcutta, . India. His father was Sergeant Barker, of the Bengalier Native Company. Mr. Barker's early are of the synagogue, eight miles from the -barracks, where he received some education. At 12 years of age he ; entered a riding school, and .two years later joined his father's company, on half-pay. At this time the natives were very troublesome, and the British troops were kept in constant readiness for outbreaks. On one occasion Mr. Barker fought in a desperate engagement in a gorge 300, miles from Calcutta. After- twelve years' service in the Army, Mr. Barker was given his discharge, and went to England. He married Miss Jane Wood, of Halifax, and ten" years later, finding conditions in England hard, he embarked on tho ship James Booth, and, with his wife, arrived at Auckland on April 3, 1861. In New Zealand the soldier took part in the Maori' War, and lator on joined tho rush to the Thames goldfields. Mr. Barker went to Hamilton in 1877, and has resided there since. Mr. Barker is not a teetotaller and has smoked since he was'a very small boy.

Mr. E. N. Armit, of the literary staff of the "Sydney Daily Telegraph," and formerly of .Wellington, las enlisted'in Sydney for ?s^i<»/W the' 'float:'" -Mr. 'Armit will arrive in Wellington by the Moeraki on- Monday on a visit to liis people. Qne'of his. brothers, Mr. C. B. Armit, has already left for the front with the Australian troops, and another, Mr. R. L. Armit, is at present in camp at Trentham.

Captain H. Oashman, who has been in command of -the Defence steamer Lady' Roberts during the past eight or nine years, was to leave for Australia by the.ltiverina on Wednesday. A presentation of a case of pipes was made to him by the members of the Garrison Artillery stationed! at_ Fort Oautley, Auckland, the gift; being accompanied by expressions of regard and good wishes.

Dr. A. M'Greger, Grant, who for the past eleven months has. been actiugmedical superintendent of the Auckland Hospital, and who has received a commission as captain in the New Zealand Medical Corps, left Aucl land for. the Awapuni camp by the Main Trunk express on Tuesday night.

Private information has been received in Dunedin from London of the death of General Sir Charles Burnett, K.C.B. (says an exchange). He .was the eldest son of the late Mr. John A Burnett, of St. Kilda, Melbourne, and was 72 years of age. He had a distinguished army career. He served in the Ashanti campaign (1873-74), gaining the rank of major, and l receiving the medal with clasps. He was brigade-major at Bombay (1876-78). He went through the Afghan (1878-79) and 1 Afghanistan campaigns (1879-80), taking part in the de- ' fence of Kandahar, being twice mentioned in dispatches, and receiving the rank of brevet-colonel, tlso medal with clasps. He was A.A.G. during the latter campaign. He was A.A.G. at Aldershot (1890-93): A.Q.M.G. at the War Office, London 1893-95) ; Q.M.G. at headquaiters (1898); commanded the eastern military district of India (1896-98); and that of Poonah (1898-07). He was one of England's military attaches during the Russo-Japanese war (1904-5), and received from the late Mikado the Order of the Sacred Treasuro (first-class). He commanded the Irish Rifles, and was the general commanding the western district (1907-10), and was the recipient of the Kaiser-i-hind gold medal. He was made C.B. in 1893, knighted m 1906, and received the K.C.V.O, in 1909. He was twice'married, and with the second Lady Burnett, a daughter of Mr. Watson, of Covington, N. 8., whom he espoused in 1910, he visited Dunedm duTing his brother's occupancy of the -mayoralty. An did resident of Thames Mr. Francis Chappell, died at his residence, Parawai, on Friday last, at the age of 80. Deceased, who was born a,t Wottingliam/England', in 1835,. arrived in New Zealaud by the ship Tyburnia in 1864. He arrived at Thames in the very oarly days of the goldfield, and, being a builder by trade, took part in the erection of various batteries at Thames and Coromandel. Ho leaves a widow and live daughters and 1 two sons. Major Maguire, of the New Zealand Medical Corps,.and medical superintendent, of the Auckland Hospital, will return from Egypt in March. A cablegram making this announcement said : Koturning, special permission, March.— Magmro." Major Maguiro was granted 12 months' leave of abs-ince from the Auckland Hospital a year ago to-day. Ho went into canrp on January IJ, 1915, and left for Egypt as second in command of the No. 2 New Zealand Stationary Hospital, which became the staff of No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital at Pont do Koubbeh. There, Major Maguire ha-s been- with c.oloii&i Parkes in charge of-the New Zealand Hospital.

In tow of the powerful tug Terawhiti the Union Company's Te Aniiu left for Port Chalmers shortly before 7 p.m. yesterday. Tho demands of the.Terawhifci's firemen, for £o for the first four days and £1 for every subsequent day while they are on the articles »vas agreed to by the company yesterday. The deck hands' received £o NJ' MRU for the run to Port Chalmers.